Seraphina Lotkhamnga on August 1st, 2013

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Tuesday was a nice reunion night when Franz Ferdinand played the Echoplex to industry folk and loyal local fans alike. But the Scottish post-punk quartet didn’t keep it too polite. Even though the pop-up show was part of a long promotional strategy (they played Coachella in April, played “Conan” on Monday and played the Hollywood Tower rooftop on Wednesday) for the release of their new album “Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action” (out Aug. 27 via Domino), Franz Ferdinand took the stage as if they were playing the last night of successful tour.

“Los Angeles! Are you all right?” yelled frontman Alex Krapanos, and as the crowd cheered in response, the four-piece went into “Right Action” to highlight the anticipation and purpose of the evening. The set was mostly comprised of songs off of the new record – the sinister “Evil Eye” was an immediate standout – but also included “Walk Away” off of 2005’s “You Could Have It So Much Better” and “Ulysses” off of 2009’s “Tonight: Franz Ferdinand.”

The tight 45-minute set was wildly raucous but far from sloppy. There was reciprocity between the crowd and the band; Krapanos and his crew were doing their job – getting everyone pumped up for the new album – but they, too, were drinking the Kool-Aid for the night. It seemed difficult for the band to just keep cool; they were wired from the preliminary celebrations as well. Kapranos noticeably shook his hips during “The Dark of the Matinee” and guitarist Nick McCarthy even dove into the audience during the beginning of fan favorite “Michael.”

Fans didn’t get “Take Me Out,” their signature hit, until the tail end of the set. Sandwiched between new tracks “Treason! Animals” and “Love Illumination,” that famous riff signaled the night was coming to an end. And when the night did come to a close, Franz Ferdinand ended on a polite note by thanking the fans who were disappointed by the lack of encore.

Photo by Debi Del Grande